Hungry, hungry Hypnotoads munch through March

Remember 2019, when the New New York Hypnotoads posted the league’s best record (102-58), one year after the most miserable season in I-75 League history (36-124)?

No. 1 seed New New York captured the Northbound Division and “league’s best record honors” with 102 victories, a mere 66-win improvement from its historically inept 36-win total of the 2018 season. That’s a climb from a .225 winning percentage to .638, or an improvement of .413. The biggest one-season leap in MLB history is owned by the Arizona Diamondbacks, who went from .401 in 1998 (65-97) to .617 in 1999 (100-62), a gain of just .216. Jason Renbarger’s Hypnotoads nearly doubled that. (Source)

That epic turnaround has served as inspiration to generations of rebuilding teams. Is this year’s 16-4 March blast a sign of a new New New York leap from last?

The Hypnotoads’ rump resided in the basement of the Northbound Division at 66-94 last year, which was only the league’s third-worst record, so the parallel isn’t perfect. And besides that, manager Jason Renbarger took stock of the potential powerhouses in his division and elsewhere before the draft, and decided to play for a strong hand, but not one that was “all-in.”

“This doesn’t really feel the same as my worst-to-first teams because last year I didn’t go full rebuild and was planning on coming in middle-of-the pack until I sold off some pieces at the deadline due to a slow start to the year,” said Jason, the tallest of the junior Renbargers when hair frizz is factored in. “Then this year I didn’t go all-in for this team, taking prospects in keeping the first overall pick for Julio (Rodriguez) and then taking (Vinnie) Pasquantino, (Vaughn) Grissom and (Shea) Langeliers as well as holding on to (Dylan) Carlson instead of trading him for a draft pick.”

So you’re saying you didn’t really mean to be this good? Other teams shouldn’t give up their dreams of league-best-record 20 games in? So you’re telling me there’s a chance?

Intentional or not, the Hypnotoads walked all over their March opponents, going 3-2 vs. Carpe Diem and South Grand Prairie, and a perfect 5-0 vs. Superior and Margaritaville.

“Overall I really am happy with how my team came together in the draft and it definitely worked out in March play,” Jason said. “My main goal this year was to make sure I had a really strong bullpen, and that definitely was accomplished with a 1.30 ERA, 11.7 K/9, and 5.5 K/BB for the month. Lots of close games all around which lead to 10 saves on the 16 wins, and a 5-1 record in one-run games thanks to the bullpen.”

Those sweet sweeps weren’t equally astonishing however, as Superior is facing a less-than-superior season, while Margaritaville boasts a prolific offense, deep bench and lights-out bullpen, as evidenced by its 4-1 record in its other three series of the month.

“The series against the Volcanoes had me on the edge of my seat the entire series,” said Jason. “I don’t think there ever was more than a two-goal separation between us until the seventh inning of Game 5, when the ‘Toads managed to put up eight runs in the inning. The key in this series was the same as it was for the whole month — timely hitting and a shutdown bullpen.”

The Hypnotoads clubbed 40 homers in March and posted a league-high 116 runs, along with a 3.26 team ERA that was the league’s second-best.

It gave New New York a four-game lead in the Northbound Division over Margaritaville, which rode a league-high .291 team batting average to a 12-win month.

Elsewhere around the league, Tatooine posted a fabulous 14-6 record despite having just one series at home, reeling off 11 road wins with a league-best 3.10 team ERA on the month, giving up a league-low 14 homers as well.

Managers go prospecting to kick off 44th season

I-75 Leaguers attend a Yankees spring training game to whet their appetite for the draft to start our 44th season.

The prospects are good for another exciting I-75 League season after managers raced through a prospect-laden draft in a record 4 1/2 hours on March 5 in Tampa, Fla., to kick off our 44th season. (View draft grid here.)

Seven managers ventured to South Florida for our first in-person convention since 2020, while eight more drafted via the internet. The first round was more like a lightning round than a contemplative round, as mock drafts before the event seemed to have managers well-positioned to know who would be available and who they wanted.

We welcomed new manager George Scienski to the fold, and the Carpe Diem manager seized the moment, drafting like a seasoned veteran rather than a Strat newbie.

New manager George Scienski in his draft war room.

Our proximity to George Steinbrenner Field offered the chance to take in two Yankee games, and a road trip to Lakeland for a Tigers game enabled some of the veteran managers with Michigan connections to wax nostalgic. Meals at traditional eateries such as Sonny’s and Shell’s completed the convention checklist.

At a predraft meeting, new divisions were drawn to take effect for the 2024 season, and plaques were distributed to 2022 champions.

As for those prospects, Julio Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman went 1-2, as anticipated, to New New York and Tatooine, respectively. A pair of budding Braves superstars in Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II went 3-4 to Boulder and Greendale, respectively, leaving the studly card of veteran Justin Verlander available at No. 5 for West Atlanta.

West Atlanta manager Jeff Richards studies his predraft worksheets.

At No. 6, Margaritaville snagged 2B Andres Gimenez, anticipating the Marlins will be moving the Volcanoes’ current second sacker with limited at-bats, Jazz Chisholm, to center field. That was followed by a trade, with Boulder sending LHP Shane McClanahan — who’d only been a Tree Hugger for a few days — to Tatooine for the seventh pick, in order to get a 1-rated left fielder in Steven Kwan, fortifying a position where the Tree Huggers were lean. After South Grand Prairie chose high on-base all-purpose man Brendan Donovan at No. 8, Savannah manager Steve Hart claimed the prospect haul of the draft with back-to-back selections of left-side infielders Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson. Two days earlier, Savannah had shipped LHP Carlos Rodon to Bismarck for pick No. 9.

Volcanoes manager John McMillan attended in full Cardinals uniform and chats up Superior manager Mike Renbarger in moments leading up to the draft.

Pleased to see OF Corbin Carroll still available at No. 11, Superior began its reload by snagging the D-Backs outfielder regarded by some as the fastest player in baseball and many services as the top prospect in the game who hasn’t achieved rookie status. At No. 12, Applegate went for one of last year’s top 5 prospects who is first-time carded in Tigers center fielder Riley Greene. Carpe Diem’s debut selection was Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena at 13, while Dyersville went after a big gun in Reds pitcher Hunter Greene at 14. Bushwood closed the first round by getting a big bat and superior fielder at first base in Christian Walker.

Savannah and Superior kick off the 2023 season, with managers Steve Hart and Mike Renbarger eager to see their new clubs in action.

When it was all done, just about every manager in the league was left with either hope for the coming season, or hope for the future, thanks to one of the best prospect pools in recent memory.

One last look back at a memorable 2022 season

As league managers gathered in Tampa at the I-75 League Convention to select players for the 2023 season, we took one last look back at the 2022 season and passed out plaques to celebrate division winners and World Series champion Superior.

Accepting a plaque for Dyersville manager Ryan Renbarger is Mike Renbarger (right) after Dyersville won the West Division in 2022.

Savannah manager Steve Hart (left) accepts his plaque after managing the Scorpions to the South Division crown in 2022.

Bushwood manager Dave Renbarger (left) accepts congratulations after winning the Northbound Division in 2023.

Superior Manager Mike Renbarger (right) accepts a plaque for winning the 2022 World Series, defeating the Bushwood Gophers to become the first sixth seed to capture the postseason crown. It was Superior’s eighth world championship in the league’s 43 years.

Divisions redrawn for 2024

While all of the excitement is building toward the 2023 draft that is just hours away, one item of business had to be taken care of for the 2024 season. Per league rules, divisions needed to be redrawn for the 2024 season, as this year marks the fourth year of the current divisional alignment.

With former Detroit Drill Team manager Ken Kuzdak drawing team names out of a hat and Commissioner Dave Renbarger recording the picks on a greaseboard, divisional alignments were drawn as such:

West	North	South
New New York	West Atlanta	South Grand Prairie
Savannah	Bushwood	Greendale
Olympic Coast	Tatooine	Applegate
Bismarck	Dyersville	Margaritaville
Boulder	Superior	Carpe Diem

Commissioner Dave Renbarger looks over the divisional alignment for 2024.